HHS Lists Final Preventative Care Rules

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury published in the Federal Register today the interim final rules on preventive services coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under the regulations, any health plan policy year beginning on or after 9-23-10 must cover specific prevenative care services WITHOUT a cost to the patient if care is provided by a network provider. These rules ONLY apply to non grandfathered plans (plans that were in effect prior to 3-10 with no significant plan changes) or plans that lose grandfathered status.

The Preventative Services include:

Evidence-based preventive services,such as breast and colon cancer screenings, screening for vitamin deficiencies during pregnancy, screenings for diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and tobacco cessation counseling.

Routine vaccines: those recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices ranging from routine childhood immunizations to periodic tetanus shots for adults.

Prevention for children: including regular pediatrician visits, vision and hearing screening, developmental assessments, immunizations, and screening and counseling to address obesity and help children maintain a healthy weight as recommended under the Bright Futures guidelines, developed by the Health Resources and Services Administration with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Prevention for women: Health plans will cover preventive care provided to women, with final guidelines for services covered to be issued by August 1, 2011.